Spirit of the Panther
by Emerald Space2
Summary: A supposed-to-be-angsty-sad story about Rukawa's bond with the Spirit of the Panther.


Author's note: This is my first attempt at an angst fic... except well... no-one cried... so I guess it's not that sad.  
  
Title: Spirit of the Panther  
  
Something was definately not right. It was unsetteling his feelings. He touched the part that felt lumpy. Was it a dream? A plague? SARS? No, not SARS. Whatever it is, it disfigured the once elegant look... leaving it now, downright ugly.  
  
"Um... Rukawa-kun?" a girl's voice snapped his concentration. The girl is... what's her name? He had forgotten again.  
  
"Hn," he replied. He went back into his own thoughts.  
  
"Uh, Rukawa-kun, why are you staring at that...." Haruko's voice faltered as her eyes widened after she saw what he was staring at. "Ahh! Rukawa-kun, w-what happened to it! It looks horrible!"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"We have to find a hospital! Quick! It must be infected!"  
  
Haruko tried to leave, but Rukawa clung on tight onto the disfigured, once elegant item.  
  
"No...." Rukawa said like it was forced out of him.  
  
Haruko's eyes watered. "But Rukawa-kun... what if....? What if...?" she could not continue. She swallowed and tried again. "It might get worse! It looks like it's dying!"  
  
The truth struck deep into Rukawa. No, it musn't die! It musn't! With this feelings like thrashing waves, he struggled to get up, clutching the disfigured item tightly.  
  
"Understand, girl, that this deceased item was given the gift of elegance from the spirit of the panter."  
  
Haruko resented being called 'girl', but at least it wasn't something like 'old woman'.  
  
"The spirit of the panther?" Haruko asked, interested.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"What is the spirit of the panther?" Haruko seemed eager to know.  
  
"Do you really want to know?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Long time ago....  
  
It was an early morning, and I was practicing basketball. The one person that had the spirit of the panther cammme up to me and asked, 'What has thou doneth?'. And I could see... I could see... no...no...!" Rukawa shut his eyes, looking sickly and pale.  
  
"Rukawa-kun? Are... are you okay?" Rukawa could hear Haruko's frightned, probing voice.  
  
Rukawa struggled to continue, "Then I saw a dart, it headed fast towards the one with the spirit of the panther I heard a ring, a loud ringing sound, and the panther spirit bared its teeth, and could not avoid the attack...."  
  
"Uh," Haruko looked uncomfortable, "What does the panther have to do with this disfigured....?"  
  
Rukawa glared at Haruko to silence her up, which she did very quickly.  
  
"You see, the dart was poisoned. It poisoned her, the spirit of the panther. When it poisoned her, I could feel there was a bond between us. Something deep, wonderful and sinister. So I felt I needed to save her. I promised her revenge because she was mortally wounded. She then gave me this gift... it was once elegant...."  
  
"Rukawa-kun, why would she give you a PLANT?" Haruko asked with bewildedness in her eyes.  
  
Rukawa glared at her again. "That is because this plant has an enchanted sword in it."  
  
"Um," Haruko looked at the plant. The plant looked terrible. It looked like someone had cut the bark of the plant, causing the food transfer to be clogged, which explains the lump on the plant. Yes, she could imagine how beautiful this plant was before. Something shone in her eyes, like as if she has some sort of familliarity with the plant. Something that she has known before.  
  
"Plants don't have magic," stated Haruko.  
  
Rukawa looked at the plant, concentrated at it. He held up his palm towards the plant. It seemed like air was swirling around in Rukawa's palm. The sword materialized, glowing with a distant black aura.  
  
Haruko's eyes was transfixed on the sword. "That must be the spirit sword of the Panther."  
  
"Hn. It's aura makes me feel determined, but distant from others. It is now a dying gift...."  
  
Suddenly, a dart came flying towards Rukawa, he whacked the silver dart aside with the sword. The dart fell on the emerald-green grass.  
  
"Ru... Rukawa-kun... I feel... I have seen this all... I... I," Haruko's eues rolled back. "I am begginning to remember... that day... the panther...."  
  
Rukawa's eys widened, as he stared at Haruko. "You... You are the --"  
  
A dart came flying out, and went straight into Rukawa's neck. Rukawa fell and he tried to reach out to Haruko, but the poison gripped him.  
  
"You... You... are...", was the last words from Rukawa that he breathed.  
  
Out of the bushes nearby, Sakuragi came running towards Haruko and Rukawa.  
  
"SAKURAGI-KUN! AN EVIL PERSON HAD JUST MURDERED RUKAWA-KUN!" Haruko cried, tears splattering onto the moist grass.  
  
"Nyahahahahaha!" laughed Sakuragi, holding out a bunch of silver needles.  
  
Haruko looked at Sakuragi in the eye. "Thank you, Sakuragi-kun. I knew I could count on you."  
  
~Owari. Fin.~ 


End file.
